Adoor: Two officials of a childcare institution were arrested on Saturday on charges of hitting seven children with a chair. Of the seven, two were seriously injured, police said.

The arrested, Ashok Kumar and Vijay Kumar, were officials of the Vivekananda Balashramam. The institution is run by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, according to PTI.

According to the police, the altercation between the students and wardens started over the children not sitting in rows properly for prayers.

The officials were irked for allegedly questioning their wrong deeds, the children told police.

"Some of the students were allegedly not following the rules and regulations of the institution. An altercation broke out between a section of students and the officials who subsequently beat the children up with plastic chairs," the news agency quoted a police officer as saying.

The two officials claimed the students first tried to attack them and they retaliated, the police said.

Two of the students received head injuries and were hospitalised, they said.

Child Welfare Committee members visited the hospitalised students and recorded their statements, they added.